The Proposal
by flaw-in-the-plan
Summary: Aang has been ready to ask Katara the big question for a while now, but he's still nervous. Fortunately, being bathed in the light of the full moon on top of the biggest building in Republic City has its advantages- what could possibly go wrong?


Disclaimer: Bryke owns Avatar. Not me. sobs

**The Proposal**

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Republic City. It was beautiful, and finally, after nine long years, it was done.

Aang and Zuko were sitting at the top of the Republic State Building, the tallest building in the entire city. From here, they could see everything- all of the glistening streets, all of the breathtaking grandeur.

And the sight calmed Aang, somehow. He felt at peace. People were beginning to move on from the war, and this new city resembled the stability they'd worked so hard to restore. Things were finally getting back to normal. He remembered how often, during the war, he'd yearned to go back in time to those carefree days at the Southern Air Temple before he'd been Avatar Aang. But now, this calm that filled him was more precious than anything he'd ever felt before.

There was only one thing missing- Katara. He'd only been able to see her once every few weeks amidst all the planning, and at times they'd spent months apart from each other. He missed her so much.

One day more. Aang smiled. He could stand to wait. Tomorrow was the big day, after all. Tomorrow, they would officially announce the opening of the new city, and she'd be there with him, and would stay there with him.

Aang touched the ring in his pocket absentmindedly.

The crowd of screaming fans that'd gathered at the bottom of the tower suddenly got louder, and Aang snapped out of his reverie.

"Aang," said Zuko. "They're taking pictures with Toph's officers."

"That's ridiculous," said Aang, but when he peeked over the edge, he noticed that a small circle had indeed formed around two tall metalbending security officers who apparently _just_ _couldn't_ _refuse_ the fans' adoration. "Well, you have to admit, they _do_ look pretty impressive in that armor and all."

"Yeah, I guess," replied Zuko vaguely. Suddenly, he gave Aang a shifty grin, slung an arm around his shoulder and imitated Katara's lofty voice.

"I'm just glad they're leaving us alone, _sweetie._"

Aang pushed at his arm. "What are you-"

"Give Katara-kins a kiss, Angsy-poo!" said Zuko, his voice high and girly. Aang's face reddened.

"We do NOT call each other-"

_Zuko squeezed Aang into his side, and his voice became muffled in Zuko's shoulder. "_It's a full moon tonight-" he made smooching noises. "Water's not the _only_ thing I can bend_-" _And then he tackled Aang to the ground, and tried to smooch him, while Aang punched at him from underneath.

"HEY- GET OFF, ZUKO- WE DO _NOT_-"

"Ugh, I should've known you two were involved," said a new voice from the roof entrance. The two looked up, Zuko still on top of Aang, Aang's foot pushing Zuko's face away.

"Toph!" said Zuko. "What are you doing here?" He let go of Aang and walked over to hug her, and Aang too stood, dusting himself off and muttering obscenities under his breath.

"Just wanted to enjoy it all like you are," she replied with a smile that seemed almost too wide. Suddenly, from underneath the hole, the three heard a bang. Toph winced, then sighed, her smile vanishing. She slapped her forehead.

"Sorry!" said the source of the commotion, and Aang gasped, his face breaking into a grin. He knew that voice better than his own.

"Katara, you _suck_ at being stealthy!" yelled Toph. "How hard is it to climb stairs?"

"I- tripped!" yelled Katara indignantly.

Toph shook her head. "Sorry, Twinkeltoes. I wanted to surprise you-" but Aang had already run into the hole to help his girlfriend up and out.

_"I'M COMING, SWEETIE!"_

Toph and Zuko looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"To be fair, he hasn't seen her in almost a month," said the latter, but they only laughed some more.

"There's no justifying it." said Toph in between giggles. "Sokka was right. _Oogies_. We should- you know- leave them alone."

"Yup, right behind you, Chief."

Toph looked at him. "Hey, Zuko, have you checked out the metal cables we've got all over town?"

"Yeah, I-"

Suddenly, a wire whipped out from her arm and wrapped around him, and he was cut off mid-word. Then, at a fierce run, she leaped off the edge of the building- Zuko screamed, and even as they swung off, like some dark superhero and her sidekick, his shouts could be heard.

"Aang, can you do that? You know how to metalbend, right? You've gotta do that for me one day," said Katara, grinning, as they made their way out of the hole.

"No way," laughed Aang. "Using that armor will take a lot of practice. Toph put her officers through _hell_ during the training, I saw it."

There was a silence as Katara took in the city. It really was something. Suddenly she became aware of the hand that encircled her waist, and she looked up at Aang, who was already smiling sheepishly at her.

"How long has it been?" he asked.

"Forty-two days and nineteen hours," said Katara without missing a beat, and then they kissed.

A while later, they were lying with their backs on the ground, looking up at the sky. Katara was curled into Aang's side. He stroked her hair, elated at her early return.

"There was a statue of you," she said out of the blue.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. It looks like how you looked when I first met you."

"Yup."

"Except the statue is tall," she sniggered.

"Hey!"

"Oh, come on. Who's been going on about being taller than me for the past _five years_?"

"More than that," corrected Aang childishly. So, yeah, he liked being taller than Katara. Than Zuko, and Sokka, _and_ Toph. He _loved_ it. "I've been taller than you for seven years."

"Exactly, you've been _rubbing it in my face _for seven years," she retorted, laughing.

"Katara, it's my Avatar duty to be tall and handsome. Now, I don't want to make you jealous, but I think Zuko has a thing for me. You shoulda seen him earlier- he couldn't keep his hands off of me," said Aang, and Katara looked up at him with a frown on her face. Then the two burst into laughter.

"I love you," said Aang, wiping a tear from his eye.

"I love you, too."

Aang hesitated. Was it too early? Maybe he should wait. Automatically, his hand went to his pocket to feel the ring, for reassurance, but it wasn't there. He sat up abruptly, pulling and stretching his clothes to see if it'd gotten buried in the cloth. He stood up and raced around the rooftop, scanning the ground frantically.

"What's wrong?" asked Katara.

"I lost it! I lost the- I lost the-" he was panicking. He could never make another one. It was impossible. No, not impossible, but it wouldn't be the same. Gran-gran had died two years after the war, and she'd been the one to teach him how to make it. Without her help, he could never-

"Are you looking for this?" asked Katara, and he spun around. She was holding his ring.

She grinned. "I felt it when we were-uh, _reuniting_, and I stole it."

"Katara! I was going to surprise you."

"You did surprise me."

Aang frowned and slumped down to the floor.

"Aang," she said, sitting in front of him. "Aang, tt doesn't matter that I found it." She was smiling, and she was so pretty and happy that Aang couldn't stay upset. "I _love_ it. It must have cost you a _fortune_. This type of rock, my grandmother said it can only found at the oasis in the Northern Water Tribe, and the inscriptions are just so _delicate_ and just perfectly done. And-" she paused. "They match my mother's necklace." Her voice had gone soft.

Aang smiled despite himself. So she noticed- of course she noticed. She wore that necklace constantly. "Well, that's what I was aiming for. Gran-Gran told me not to make a necklace, because you'd never be able to let go of your mother's, so I made a ring instead. To match."

She beamed at him. "It really is- wait a second, you _made_ this?" Her smile vanished. "_You_ _made_ _this_? And- oh- you made it before she died- Aang-" she stopped, as if the thought was too overwhelming. She rubbed one of her eyes and gulped. "You made this seven years ago."

And suddenly she flew into his arms, hugging him, clutching him with all the strength and love of the most gifted waterbender in the two poles. "I had some help," he said into her shoulder, his voice muffled. "Sokka is actually pretty skilled with his hands."

There was a short silence as Aang silently beat himself up for not being able to choose better words. Then-

"I _would_ make a joke about what you just said, but I don't want to ruin the moment," sniffed Katara. Her voice was hoarse.

"Katara- are you crying?" he asked incredulously. She suddenly gave a great sob, and their bodies shook.

"_No_," she mumbled. She tightened her grip on him. "...yes. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

And they just stood there, holding each other, Yue's glow bathing them in iridescent light.

"So… does this mean you'll marry me?" asked Aang finally.

She sighed. "Of course I will marry you, Pupil Aang," she said with a shaky laugh. He let out a happy sigh, and she pulled back and stared at him with glistening eyes. "...And while we're on the topic, I want three kids."

Aang nearly fainted.

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Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are better than Uncle Iroh's tea! Well, not quite. But I want some anyways.


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